Advice on Books please ?

[ernie90]

Hi, can anyone advise good reading material to help me learn about photography please, have just bought an EOS7D, never used a DSLR before and know very little want to learn how to use the camera and also about setting up shots, etc, I have pre-ordered dummys guide to 7D (out in feb) which tells you how much I know, any advice welcomed.:thumbup:





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EOS 7D
Canon EF 15-85mm IS Lens
Canon EF 70/300mm f/4-5.6 IS USM Lens
Canon EF 70/200mm f/2.8L IS USM
Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens
Speedlite 580EXii
BG-E7 Battery Grip

 

[Nicholas James Photo]

Any good book on exposure would help. Also, and I know this is an advanced book, the hot shoe diaries (its about the use of flash) but can help a lot with composition and understanding light

 

[Digital Dustin]

"Understanding Exposure" is an excellent book. I am also a newb and this book really gave me a solid base to build on.

 

[SrBiscuit]

"Understanding Exposure" is an excellent book.

+1 :thumbup:

 

[IgsEMT]

one above there
+ Magic Lantern Guide (for your camera) - learn to use it.

 

[ernie90]

Thanks for the info, appreciate you all taking the time to respond

 

[Annamas]

Understanding Exposure is simply the best beginner book there is. Read it, learn it, love it.

I'm not sure if many will agree about this though: cancel your order for the Dummies book. I bought one for my Canon 30D. It was about the same as my user manual. It explained things *a bit* more, but go out and play with your camera and you'll know your camera better than the book can tell you. Typically I've found that any book made for a specific camera is about boiled down version of the techincal aspects of the camera and very little to do about photography.

Once you pick up and learn Understanding Exposure you should be able to shoot constantly exposed photo's. After that I found it was time to pony up and choose a direction to study and learn. Unless you're blessed with a decent bank account, I find it more economical to pick one area and go from there. Your stock lens will work well with some areas, but depending on what your shooting you'll switch to a 50mm / wideangle, telephoto, faster lens, macro lens etc. Not only will it help your wallet, it's easier to find literature on specific types of photography as well (portraiture / landscape / macro / etc)

 

[Josh66]

Looks like everyone has this pretty much covered already.

While you're waiting for the dummy's guide, read the manual that came with the camera front to back with the camera - so you can do what you're reading about as you read it.

 

[kundalini]

I just finished The Moment It Clicks by Joe McNally. It's not meant to be a how-to book, although there is technical stuff threwn about, but it's more about the thought process he goes through for a shoot, the pleasures and pains of being a professional photographer and he also touches on how to deal with people. There's plenty of r-e-a-l-l-y good photos to try and emulate plus some lighter notes and stories. I thought it to be a good read.

There is a fair bit of talk about lighting in The Moment It Clicks, but if you really want to get some good information about off-camera speedlight photography, I highly recommend his book, The Hot Shoe Diaries.

EDIT: (added)
I'm nearly finished with Scott Kelby's The Digital Photographer Vol.3. I wasn't blown away, but it got better for me beyond the halfway mark. I'd go to B&N, grab a coffee and have a look at Vol. 1 & 2 (I haven't read). I'm pretty sure the series is setup for the beginner.

 

[KmH]

Get the 3 book series by Scott Kelby: Amazon.com: Scott Kelby's Digital Photography Boxed Set, Volumes 1, 2, and 3 (9780321678737): Scott Kelby: Books

The 3 books will give you an overview of the many aspects of photography.

Once you decide what your niche is you can always resell the set right there on Amazon.

Photography is an art form, so knowing and understanding composition is important for that I recommend: The Photographers Eye

Lastly, for the basics of photographic lighting:Light: Science and Magic

 

[kundalini]

^^ :lmao: ..... as I was editing.

 

[Darkhunter139]

While we are on the subject has anyone read Learning to See Creatively by Bryan Peterson? If so is it any good?

 

[chip]

Go to your local library and you will be amazed how many photography books there you can borrow for free! They are usually brand new and never been read!

 

[Derrel]

I can not agree with canceling your order for the Guide For Dummies--unlike the 10D-20D-30-40-50D series bodies,which I am familiar with through ownership, the EOS 7D is a sophisticated body that has many,many new features which are not found in any other Canon body-even the pro models.

The 7D has Canon's first color-aware light metering system, the first implementation of a brand-new, unique AF system, and also is Canon's first body with a built-in flash commander system. The 7D is several steps above the 10D-50D series of bodies in terms of features and controls, and I think a 3rd party guide, written by a native English speaker and in western English, would be much more valuable than the Canon manual. While the camera manuals are fine at explaining features on a one-by-one basis, the manuals usually are very lean on conceptual overviews,and are written by engineers.

Your local library probably has many books about photography.

 

[KmH]

My local library certainly has several photography books. I've actually seen them.

While we are on the subject has anyone read Learning to See Creatively by Bryan Peterson? If so is it any good?

Yes, it's worth getting and so is his "Beyond Portraiture".

For someone wanting a hard copy of the Strobist approach look at "Minimalist Lighting. Professional Techniques for Location Photography" by Kirk Tuck.